Distance Education Literature Research Articles

Book Review: Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education: Parts I and II

The Handbook of Open, Distance, and Digital Education (ODDE) is a comprehensive publication covering key topics from open and distance education as well as digital education. This book establishes itself as colossus in the realm of distance education literature, spanning seven parts, 80 chapters and 1,437 pages. Covering such an extensive publication within the scope of a single review might not do justice to the significant individual contributions of this work. Consequently, this review pertains only to part I and part II of this book, which involves the first 14 chapters.

Student Dropout as a Never-Ending Evergreen Phenomenon of Online Distance Education.

The research on student dropout demonstrates that there is no consensus on its definition and scope. Although there is an expanding collection of research on the topic, student dropout remains a significant issue, characterized by numerous uncertainties and ambiguous aspects. The primary aim of this investigation is to assess the research trends of student dropout within the distance education literature by employing data mining and analytic approaches. To identify these patterns, a total of 164 publications were examined by applying text mining and social network analysis. The study revealed some intriguing facts, such as the misinterpretation of the term "dropout" in different settings and the inadequacy of nonhuman analytics to explain the phenomenon, and promising implications on how to lessen dropout rates in open and distance learning environments. Based on the findings of the study, this article proposes possible directions for future research, including the need to provide a precise definition of the term "dropout" in the context of distance learning, to develop ethical principles, policies, and frameworks for the use of algorithmic approaches to predict student dropout, and finally, to adopt a human-centered approach aimed at fostering learners' motivation, satisfaction, and independence to reduce the rate of dropout in distance education.

Educational Experience and Instructional Design Effectiveness Within the Community of Inquiry Framework

Within its 20 years of development, the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has become the most widely used theoretical framework in e-learning. It is considered in much of the distance education literature to be a robust collaborative-constructivist process model that uses three essential elements to interpret educational experience: cognitive presence, teaching presence, and social presence. Widespread use of the CoI framework has resulted in several criticisms, such as having no guidelines for implementation, no incorporation of assessment and evaluation metrics, and no widespread consensus on the current model’s ability to represent all the contributing factors that promote a positive educational experience. However, there is an opportunity to overcome these shortcomings, some of which may exist, and to use the CoI’s extraordinary strength in creating a positive education experience, by adding instructional design effectiveness. The purpose of this combination of a literature review and opinion is to present the CoI framework and its major controversies to shine a light on its importance as one approach to designing critical parts of e-learning. Additionally, given the CoI’s purpose of creating a positive educational experience, this paper argues to make explicit to instructional designers and instructors the need to address using the CoI framework within an effective overall design.

Pivoting Culinary Arts Education During COVID-19 Part One

As culinary educators, we have a long history of teaching our craft within a hands-on master apprentice learning environment . Since the dark ages, it has been typical for the trainee chef to physically stands by the side of their master and be guided in the development of their technical and cognitive skills. However, through the onset of Covid 19 in early 2020, the traditional ‘hands-on’ master-apprentice mode of learning was disrupted by lockdown and the inevitable of distance learning. In response to this, disruption The Food Design Institute at Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand quickly pivoted its mode of curriculum delivery from on-campus face to face learning to on-line distance learning. As part of the development process of repivoting their course, the culinary lecturing team engaged with distance education literature to inform their teaching and learning decision-making processes. The intent of this literature review was to inform the teaching team of known strategies for effective distance learning and provide the best learning experience for their learners. This paper discusses the finding of this literature review and produces several strategies and considerations for vocational educators who wish to produce curricula and learning experiences of the same caliber as traditional on-campus programs. With corona virus remaining a critical factor within our immediate futures, developing strategies for delivering educational programs via distance are not only practical to develop but also necessary if we are to keep abreast of our learner’s educational, social and individual needs.

Efficacy of distant curricular models: Comparing hybrid versus online with residency outcomes in nurse practitioner education

BackgroundNurse practitioner programs increasingly incorporate distant learning. Challenges establishing workforce preparedness and clinical competency are well documented in distance education literature. An evidence gap exists establishing the efficacy of online course delivery modalities. ObjectiveTo determine if an online clinical training program with required residencies is an effective delivery modality in nurse practitioner education. MethodsThis observational, cohort research evaluates distant learning by comparing student cohort outcomes from a successful hybrid family nurse practitioner (FNP) program to student cohort outcomes from an online with residency requirement program. Mixed methods, comparative research examine a convenience sample of 98 FNP students. Quantitative measures include 5 summative simulation based experiences, national certification exam pass rates, and an indirect student survey. Statistical analyses include equivalence tests with Bonferroni corrections for multiple comparisons and Pearson Chi-square test for independence. Qualitative analysis employs a short answer question, open-coded for thematic analysis, to assess curricular model perceptions. ResultsAnalyses demonstrate no practical difference, broad statistical equivalency across 6 of 7 quantitative measures, and identify qualitative similarities in thematic analyses across cohorts. ConclusionThis study supports equivalency in outcomes between hybrid and online with residency course delivery models when curricular and clinical competency assessments are uniformly implemented. This research suggests the impact of curricular delivery modality is low.

College Students’ Views on the Pandemic Distance Education: A Focus Group Discussion

The COVID-19 is a deadly pandemic that has affected every aspect of life including education. The schools have been closed to prevent the spread of the virus, and they have converted their system into distance education. Completing the semester there is a need to address the problematic issues in the new system to develop it for future implementations. Thus the current research aimed to examine the perceptions of Turkish university students on the pandemic distance education period. In particular, this research addressed the following research questions: (1) How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your life in general? (2) What do you think about web-based pandemic education that you have? (3) What are your suggestions on future distance education implementations? It was conducted by focus group discussion. The researcher carried out the discussion via Skype one of the best ways in pandemic period. The 12 undergraduates were determined randomly and voluntarily from each grade. A number of issues that were obtained from the discussion were identified through qualitative content analysis. The findings have revealed that most of the participants were affected by the pandemic period negatively feeling anxiety, despair, and boredom. It is apparent from the findings of the second research question that pandemic education process has had its weaknesses rather than its advantages such as lack of interaction, and communication which lead the students to isolation, problems about exams, traditional educational habits, the load of assignments, and time management. The advantages on the other hand have been flexibility of time and place, students’ having more responsibilities in learning and comfort in exams. The suggestions of the participants are also worth to note like instructors’ changing their way of lecturing, their perspectives as educators, and the way of assessment. It is hoped to contribute to the current distance education literature with its worthwhile results.

A Review and Content Analysis of the Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education Publications Between 2000 and 2015

This paper presents a review of distance education literature published in the Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education (TOJDE) to describe the status thereof and to identify gaps and priority areas in distance education research based on a validated classification of research areas. The articles (N = 784) published between 2000 and 2015 were reviewed for this study. Findings indicated that issues related to educational technology are a popular research area in articles published in TOJDE. Nearly all the articles are theoretical/descriptive, quantitative, or qualitative in nature. According to publication and authorship patterns, TOJDE is an international journal with a special ability to reflect developments in its near region in the field of distance education.

Program Planning Model: A Theoretical Guide for Designing Online Distance Education Courses

Planning a university-based distance education was once considered a marginalized practice in higher education institutions (HEIs). However, many changes have since taken place in HEIs, not only from procedural and technological aspects, but also involving structural and cultural systemic changes in the existing organizational and educational practices. Universities are now expected to deliver courses not only in traditional face-to-face format, but to also inculcate various forms of distance and flexible learning as part of their course delivery to the students. Understanding context is an important aspect in program planning. By assessing the current context of distance education practice in higher education, this paper seeks to propose a program planning model as a theoretical guide for supporting the development of a successful learning design for distance learners, particularly for undergraduate courses. The first part of this paper discussed a selected program planning model from the adult education literature. The second part of this paper elaborates each of the planning component as supported the distance education literature. This paper concludes with a proposed skeletal model, specifically for designing online courses at the end.

Developing ICT Skills of STEM Teachers in Mexico: The Key Role of the Tutorial Function

It is well documented in distance education literature that one of the factors that are considered essential to the success of an online course is the tutorial function. The role of counselor consists of assisting and encouraging students, building learning activities, and developing support strategies for the use of technology. The tutor thus was assessed as one element of great importance in on-line education, and, to some, an essential feature of this mode. In this paper, the importance of the tutorial function and its effect on the development of skills for using information and communication technology (ICT) in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers was analyzed. The results showed that on average the treatment contributed to improving the skills of teachers, as 100% of those analyzed for competence increased their scores. Interpolation lines were used for three domains, and demonstrated the effectiveness of the tutor function. The implications of this work are discussed in the context of the National Development Plan of Mexico (2003-2018), and more specifically, under the recommendations of the inclusion of ICT competency standards for teachers of UNESCO.

Social presence reconsidered: moving beyond, going back, or killing social presence

Online education research has long employed the concept of social presence to study interactions in technologically mediated spaces. Yet, a precise shared definition of social presence does not exist. This article traces how the concept of social presence has been developed and appropriated in the online and distance education literature. We do not simply focus on the historical trajectory of the concept but discuss how it is utilized to address the growing complexities of social interactions in parallel to the increasing affordances of new technologies. Our aim is to illustrate that social presence is over extended and widely stretched to correspond with the possibilities of socialization and that it has long lost its depth and breadth, and thus, its analytical strength. We argue that we should focus more on the relative salience of interpersonal relationships if we are to understand the relational aspects of being online.

Review and Content Analysis of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance/Distributed Learning (2000–2015)

<p class="3">This paper presents a review of distance education literature published in the <em>International Review of Research in Open and Distance/Distributed Learning</em> (IRRODL) to describe the status thereof and to identify gaps and priority areas in distance education research based on a validated classification of research areas. All articles (<em>N </em>= 580) published between 2000 and 2015 were reviewed for this study. An analysis of abstracts using the text-mining tool Leximancer over three 5-year periods reveals the following broad themes over the three periods: the establishment of online learning and distance education institutions (2000–2005), widening access to education and online learning support (2006–2010), and the emergence of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Open Educational Resources (OER) (2011–2015). The analysis auf publication and authorship patterns revealed that IRRODL is a very international journal with a high impact in terms of citations.</p>

Emerging student support trends on social media platforms in open education system

Diversity of interactive environments has increased with use of developing technology in open education systems. In this sense social media platforms allows to coming together of learners. Distance education institutions can make important decisions by following students’ interaction in these environments. Especially students established themselves non-formal social media platforms are subject of investigation. There are different support needs of students throughout student learning life in distance education institutions. These issues are called student affair in distance education literature. These issues may vary by countries, region or program. Anadolu University is a mega-university in distance education area. There are some student support issues in this system and they attempt to find supports. Some of them can be listed as follows: New Registration and Registration Renewal, Examination Services, Course Exemption, Student Certificates, Forgotten Password and Sign-in Problems, Academic Amnesty, Military Service, Student ID Cards, Diploma and Diploma Supplements, Associate Degree, Honor Certificate, Postage and Shipping Services, İnternational Programs and Tuition Fee. In this subject some solutions can produce by following trends of students. In this study, Facebook groups have been investigated which created by distance education learners on social media platforms. These groups were analyzed with maximum interaction and Open Education Faculty Department of Sociology Facebook group is selected. Interaction and trends in the group are discussed in the context of student support. NodeXL, Gephi and Quintly software are used for social network analysis based on shares, comment and likes. The research aims to uncover student support trends on social networks. Student trends will be discussed under categories. Findings of the research can contribute to development of student support activities in this open education system. Further learners’ trends are important to show that intensity topics. Emerging student support trends on social media platforms is important to produce solutions.Keywords: Student support; open and distance learning; social networks; content analyses; sociology

Flips and flops

This article examines the current interest of educators in flipped learning. Although this concept has developed in the online and distance education literature over two decades, numerous current writers are attributing it to an idea formed in 2007 by two K–12 teachers in Colorado, USA. The mechanisms that generate such myths are examined, with emphasis on the confusions, defensive strategies, and blogfuscations that cause them in web sites and blogs. In its treatment of the flipped learning topic, Wikipedia.org, often regarded as lacking in accuracy and credibility, has demonstrated that a solid reviewing process can reduce the effects of hype and ensure that an accurate record is maintained. It is recommended that academic journals should enlist the help of their reviewing panels in monitoring hype as it arises and correcting accounts of it on, for example, Wikipedia as a vital quality control measure.

Self-regulated Learning Strategies Employed by Regular, Evening, and Distance Education English Language and Literature Students

The aim of this paper was to compare self-regulated learning skills employed by regular, distance and evening English Language and Literature (ELL) students. This paper investigated self-regulated learning in terms of goal setting, environment structuring, time management, help seeking, self-evaluation, and metacognition. In order to collect data, Online Self-Regulated Learning Scale (OSLQ) and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) were used. These two scales were adapted according to the scope of the paper. The number of participants is 237. Participants of the study are English Language and Literature Department students at Karabuk University. In terms of status, they are from regular, evening, and distance education programs. The results indicate that the three groups have relatively high levels of self-regulation, but evening students have the highest level of self-regulation, and successful students employ more self-evaluation and metacognition strategies compared to other groups.

Conteúdos de ensino na disciplina de língua portuguesa: o embate entre o discurso da tradição e o discurso da mudança

Este artigo apresenta uma análise de enunciados de licenciandos em Letras de um curso de Licenciatura Letras-Português-EaD de uma universidade pública federal do sul do Brasil no que se refere às concepções de conteúdos de ensino e aprendizagem na disciplina de língua portuguesa. A fundamentação teórico-metodológica insere-se na Análise Dialógica do Discurso do Círculo de Bakhtin. Os dados da pesquisa compõem-se de: 106 fóruns de discussão; 59 enunciados de atividades avaliativas, postados no ambiente virtual de ensino e aprendizagem no período de 2007 a 2011; e dados gerados por meio de um questionário, respondido por 61 licenciandos nos seus respectivos polos de apoio de ensino presencial. A análise aponta para um embate entre o discurso da tradição no ensino de língua portuguesa e o discurso da mudança.

Mišrusis bendrosios anglų kalbos mokymas (-is): studentų požiūrio analizė

Technology has the capacity to enhance a foreign language learning process of students, but it is not always an easy task to determine how much of a traditional classroom and distance learning should be integrated into the teaching process. The research methodology is based on a small scale qualitative and quantitative analysis among the students attending the English language courses provided by the Centre of Foreign Languages at Vytautas Magnus University.The paper reports on the results of the survey that presents the students’ attitudes on traditional and blended learning of the English language. The paper also deals with the topic that is sometimes ignored in much of the distance education literature: students’ distressing experiences due to communication breakdowns and technical difficulties.

Review of distance education research (2000 to 2008): Analysis of research areas, methods, and authorship patterns

This paper presents a review of distance education literature to describe the status thereof and to identify gaps and priority areas in distance education research based on a validated classification of research areas. The articles (<em>N</em> = 695) published in five prominent distance education journals between 2000 and 2008 were reviewed for this study. The conclusion is that distance education research is strongly dominated by issues related to instructional design and individual learning processes; whereas, other important areas (e.g., innovation and change management or intercultural aspects of distance learning) are dreadfully neglected. There is a significant trend towards collaborative research and more qualitative studies. Over 80% of all articles originate from only five countries.

Research on Distance Education: In defense of field experiments

This article extends the issues and arguments raised in Bernard, Abrami, Lou, and Borokhovski (Distance Education, 25(2), 175–198, 2004) regarding the design of quantitative, particularly experimental research in distance education. A single experimental, study from the distance education literature is examined from six different perspectives to show the differences between preexperiments, true experiments, and quasi‐experiments in terms of their impact on interpretability and generalizability (i.e., internal and external validity). Arguments for and against experimentation are discussed and the article ends with a description of meta‐analysis, the quantitative synthesis of experimental research, and its potential for providing answers to questions that no single study can adequately address.

Introducing IRRODL's Regional Editors: Building the pathway to a global village of open and distance Education literature

Introducing IRRODL's Regional Editors: Building the pathway to a global village of open and distance Education literature

Education through telemedicine networks: setting quality standards

Quality standards for educational programming have received limited attention in telemedicine. We selected five sets of standards from the distance education literature established by: (1) the American Council on Education; (2) the American Distance Education Consortium; (3) the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions; (4) the Distance Education and Training Council; (5) the Innovations in Distance Education Project. The standards were reviewed to determine the purposes they were intended to serve and the process by which they were established. The content of the five sets of standards were summarized around the 'four commonplaces' of education: learner, teacher, curriculum and context. Four major findings emerged. First, none of the sets of standards addresses all of the issues that are potentially relevant to telemedicine education; all emphasize certain topics while neglecting others. Second, there are some important aspects of telemedicine that are not addressed at all, such as patient confidentiality. Third, the standards generally provide a framework for defining high quality in distance education, leaving to those at the local level the task of deciding how a standard applies in their setting. Finally, the standards reviewed have many elements that could potentially apply to telemedicine education. Setting quality standards for education through telemedicine requires a systematic approach and a means for continuous improvement of those standards.